Indonesia grants export permit extension to Freeport, Reuters reportsIndonesia will allow Freeport-McMoRan to export up to 775,000 tonnes of copper over the next six months and may also lower Freeport's export tax to 5%-7.5%, reported Reuters yesterday. The government and the company continue to negotiate terms of a contract or license that could extend to 2041, the report added. Reference Link

Earnings Watch: Morgan Stanley positive on Freeport-McMoRan ahead of Q2 resultsFreeport-McMoRan (FCX) is expected to report second quarter earnings on Thursday, July 23, before the market open with a conference call scheduled for 10:00 am ET. Freeport-McMoRan is a natural resource company with an industry portfolio of mineral assets, oil and natural gas resources, and a production profile. EXPECTATIONS: Analysts are looking for earnings per share of 7c on revenue of $4.28B, according to First Call. The consensus range for EPS is (15c)-17c on revenue of $3.68B-$5.11B. LAST QUARTER: Freeport-McMoRan reported first quarter adjusted EPS of (6c) against estimates for (7c), on revenue of $4.15B against estimates for $4.06B. Consolidated sales for Q1 totaled 960M pounds of copper, 263K ounces of gold, 23M pounds of molybdenum and 12.5M barrels of oil equivalents, compared with 871M pounds of copper, 187K ounces of gold, 27M pounds of molybdenum and 16.1 MMBOE in Q1 of last year. Consolidated sales for 2015 are expected to approximate 4.2B pounds of copper, 1.3M ounces of gold, 95M pounds of molybdenum and 52.3 MMBOE. The company forecast FY16 sales of copper at 5.4B pounds and sales of gold at 1.9M oz. It sees FY17 sales of copper at 5B pounds and sales of gold at 2.4M oz. Capital expenditures are expected to approximate $6.5B for 2015, including $2.5B for major projects at mining operations and $2.8B for oil and gas operations. Freeport-McMoRan said it has taken actions to reduce or defer capital expenditures and other costs and is evaluating funding alternatives to advance growth projects in its oil and gas business, including consideration of a sale of public equity for a minority interest in its oil and gas subsidiary. On its Q1 conference call, management said they were optimistic for mid-term and long-term prospects for business. STREET RESEARCH: Sentiment on the Street leading up to Freeportís Q2 report has been positive. On April 28, Morgan Stanley upgraded Freeport-McMoRan to Overweight from Equal Weight with a $29 price target. The firm had reduced concerns about financing due to ramping volumes and cost declines. Morgan Stanley believed Freeport-McMoRan's copper growth projects were near an inflection point and production increases would drive a 28% volume increase at a lower cost and reduced capex. On June 9, Morgan Stanley said Freeport-McMoRanís valuation was attractive. The firm believed Freeport's Q1 was a multi-year trough for earnings and free cash flow. Morgan Stanley saw minimal execution risk at three key projects and expected costs to decline 22% in 2016. Morgan Stanley viewed Freeport's valuation as attractive and reiterated its Overweight rating and $29 price target. PRICE ACTION: Freeportís shares are down about 25% since the company's Q1 report and have plummeted more than 60% over the past twelve months. In afternoon trading ahead of Thursday's Q2 report, Freeportís shares are down about 4.7%.